The Campeche-Cancún stretch of the Maya Train railroad officially opened on Friday, 3 1/2 years after construction of the government infrastructure project began.
President López Obrador inaugurated sections 2,3 and 4 of the 1,554-kilometer-long railroad at a press conference in Campeche city on Friday morning.
“We’re very pleased to be here with you in Campeche on this truly historic day because we’re inaugurating this stretch [of railroad] from Campeche to Cancún,” he said.
The multi-billion-dollar railroad “is a project for the people of Mexico and that’s why we’re all going to take care of it,” said López Obrador, who has traveled frequently to the southeast of the country to inspect construction progress.
“It’s a project for all Mexicans … [and will] greatly help the development of the southeast,” he said.
At the conclusion of the press conference, the president, National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval and Campeche Governor Layda Sansores unveiled an inauguration plaque.
López Obrador and other officials later boarded the Maya Train for the five-to-six hour, 473-kilometer trip to the Cancún Airport station. The first trip on which ordinary paying passengers will be on board will depart Campeche for Cancún on Saturday morning.
Among the 14 stations located along the three sections inaugurated on Friday is one near Yucatán state capital Mérida (in a locality called Teya) and another close to the Chichén Itzá archaeological site. There are also stations in the colonial cities of Izamal and Valladolid, both in Yucatán.
Built by private companies and the Mexican army, the railroad has a total of seven sections and 34 stations (including modest ones known as paraderos, or stops).
López Obrador said last month that the stretch between Cancún and Palenque, Chiapas, will open on Dec. 31, while the entire railroad and its 34 stations will be operational on Feb. 29, 2024.
The president inaugurated construction of the railroad in June 2020, and pledged at the time that it would be finished in 28 months, or by October 2022.
However, the project has faced a range of challenges, including court rulings that have temporarily halted work and ardent opposition from environmental groups, which say that the construction and operation of the railroad pose a threat to wildlife, subterranean rivers and the Maya jungle.
A collective of groups representing Maya communities said before construction of the railroad began that there was “nothing Maya about it.“
Although the project has taken longer than he initially anticipated, López Obrador declared on Friday that the still-incomplete railroad had been built in “record time,” and reiterated his belief that it is the most important public work currently under development anywhere in the world.
He said that around 100,000 workers from all over Mexico contributed to the construction of the railroad, which, once fully operational, will connect cities and towns in five states: Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, Quintana Roo and Chiapas.
With reports from El Financiero and López-Dóriga Digital
A interconnected passenger service will serve the needs of Mexico for 100 years.
This is a labor train first and foremost. A mechanism to keep the “All-Inclusive” hotel engine running on Mexican workers rather then importing Central Americans (or improving pay and working conditions). Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if people from far flung locales can access better employment.
Tourism is an open question. In a global market it will attract some people. But if they want to truely detonate the interest of foreign tourists it could be marketed as a “Land Cruise” offering similar experiences as an Ocean Cruise, but as a cultural l/ intellectual endevour
I live in Yucatan state. Tren Maya is 100% successful now. I’ve watched the project from the start to now! The locals are proud of the accomplishments.
Took 5 years to build. From inception to completion.
California has been building a train nobody will ride for 15 years. Fraudulent politicians stealing taxpayers blind.
Keep on doing what your doing Mexico!!
Viva Yucatan!!
👍…🙌
The Maya train is the best public works for Mexico and will benefit the people in terms of better economy , jobs, tourism with minimum impact on the ecology. It is by far a good trade off for those whose propose it will damage the jungle vs helping the people.
Its all very fine,but will it fit into the general transportation of the whole country of Mexico? Will there be connecting trains between Campeche and Mexico City? Is bringing back passenger train service to all of Mexico only a pipe dream?
This infrastructure development in time will be recognised as one of the most successful projects of its type in the world. Truely remarkable the way government focused and handled the significant problems in front of them. There is no way such a project like Tren Maya could have occurred in Nth America, or Australia in the completion time or budget that occurred in Mexico
A big concern of this project is maintenance. Many things get built in Mexico. All under the auspices of how great and efficient they will be, and how they will attract visitors. Then when completed, they don’t get maintained.The autopista ones come to mind. Who makes the tren Maya engines, and the cars? Will food be served on board for the public? Will accommodations be built to cater to the public near the stops? Restroom facilities? Will these trains become graffiti laden like in N.Y.? and Italy? So many questions……right now, it all sounds wonderful. But, I hope there’s never a 4 Seasons built in Palenque or Agua Azul, or Chichen Itza.